Manuel217 Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 I want to create with Affinity Designer a gradient mesh. In order to be able to define a brand specific texture, I am experimenting. The texture shall be used in Powerpoint slides but also on large prints like banners. So I must work in a way that it does not raster the image, because I want to scale it infinitly. Unfortunatelly you see in the Texture.pdf that the gaussian blur applied on the shape does not exist any more. Only the color gradients work in the PDF. If I export to SVG, then the gaussian blur exits. Also if I bring the SVG to Powerpoint and Export the Powerpoint as PDF, then the shape is blured correctly. So I assume this must be an export error in the Affinity Designer 2.4. Can you please help? I have posted the export menu screen shots so you may see whether any adjustment should be made, to get it to work. Thank you. Texture.pdf Texture.afdesign Texture.svg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel217 Posted March 24 Author Share Posted March 24 I tried to open the afdesign file in publisher and export it from there to pdf, but the problem remains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hangman Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Hi @Manuel217 and welcome to the forums, 53 minutes ago, Manuel217 said: So I must work in a way that it does not raster the image, because I want to scale it infinitly. By working in Designer and applying the Gaussian Blur to the various layers you effectively have a Vector Workflow in as much as you can scale your source graphic up and down as needed along with the Gaussian Blur FX using the Affinity Designer file... 53 minutes ago, Manuel217 said: Unfortunatelly you see in the Texture.pdf that the gaussian blur applied on the shape does not exist any more. Only the color gradients work in the PDF. If I export to SVG, then the gaussian blur exits. Also if I bring the SVG to Powerpoint and Export the Powerpoint as PDF, then the shape is blured correctly. So I assume this must be an export error in the Affinity Designer 2.4. The reason the Gaussian Blur isn't exporting to the PDF file is because you've set Rasterisation to None in the PDF Export settings... The Gaussian Blur itself will always be rasterised when exported to a PDF file so for it to export correctly you need to keep Rasterise set to Unsupported Properties and then it will export correctly... If you need larger versions of your Artwork you can simply scale everything in your source Affinity Designer file up accordingly to the appropriate size before exporting the file to PDF. Your SVG file doesn't have the smooth Gaussian Blur or the original file for the same reason, i.e. because you've set Rasterise to Nothing. The difference with the SVG file is that on export it has maintained the editable FX of the original, albeit with a reduced radius hence the file doesn't look as smooth as the original... If you open the PDF exported from PowerPoint in Designer I would expect to see rasterised Image layers in place of vector layers... This is an exported PDF with Rasterise set to Unsupported Properties... Texture New.pdf Quote Affinity Designer 2.4.2 | Affinity Photo 2.4.2 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.2 Affinity Designer Beta 2.5.0 (2415) | Affinity Photo Beta 2.5.0 (2415) | Affinity Publisher Beta 2.5.0 (2415) Affinity Designer 1.7.3 | Affinity Photo 1.7.3 | Affinity Publisher 1.10.8 MacBook Pro 16GB, macOS Monterey 12.7.4, Magic Mouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel217 Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 Hello @Hangman, thank you for your advice on the settings to rasterization. I have adjusted the rasteration setting and it worked well. Only the file is now significant larger than before. Now the file is 5,4MB. Can you tell me whether it works to use the SVG on Websites or whether also here the rasterization must be applied? Cheers, Brand Texture.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bruce Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 On 3/24/2024 at 5:41 AM, Manuel217 said: I want to create with Affinity Designer a gradient mesh. In order to be able to define a brand specific texture, I am experimenting. The texture shall be used in Powerpoint slides but also on large prints like banners. So I must work in a way that it does not raster the image, because I want to scale it infinitly. Can you not just export the Designer file* for the Powerpoint slides at the proper size and then export the PDF for printing the large size banners at the appropriate resolution and physical size (3 feet by 8 feet for example)? I would use the Designer file as a placed file in one document for making Powerpoint slides and place it again in another document to make the banners. Size and place it appropriately and add the necessary elements. * Which is all vector with some effects which will cause rasterization. You can scale the all vector Designer file to be small or extremely large as it is vectors, then export at the appropriate DPI/PPI. This will mean the small Powerpoint slides will be a smaller file size and the large banners will be a large file size. Quote Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 Affinity Designer 2.4.1 | Affinity Photo 2.4.1 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.1 | Beta versions as they appear. I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loukash Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 (edited) 1 hour ago, Manuel217 said: I have adjusted the rasteration setting and it worked well. Only the file is now significant larger than before. Now the file is 5,4MB. Layer effects are pixel based and will always rasterize. If you want vector gradients to transparency, you must use vector shapes with gradient fills and opacity values. This can become difficult, however, because Affinity still doesn't support gradient mesh or gradients along a curve. But it is possible to work around by using multiple stacked fills and blend modes via the Appearance panel, as long as the object isn't too complex. ^ Actually that will likely not work, as it seems… In theory it could, and I vaguely remember having experimented with something similar, but I can't reproduce it right now off the top of my head… Edited March 25 by loukash Quote MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel217 Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 @Old Bruce thank you for your post here on this question. I have adjusted the export according to @Hangman comment and it worked. Hangman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel217 Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 Thank you @loukash "This can become difficult, however, because Affinity still doesn't support gradient mesh or gradients along a curve." Yes I recognized that and I hope they will provide this functionality in future. loukash 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loukash Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 @Manuel217, just out of curiosity I tried to create similarly blurred vector shapes using gradient mesh in VectorStyler which is technically possible, but I got stuck due to the complexity and Featuritis™ issues of the app (my patience for figuring out how tools works is sometimes limited…) In any case, if gradient mesh is something you'd need right now, VectorStyler can do that – if you can actually figure out how, that is. You can't always copy & paste everything from VS into Affinity but you can always place a PDF exported from VS. The app is currently on sale, which is a pretty good offer. I'm using it sometimes as a sort of "Affinity plugin". Quote MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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